The Elite Capitol Academy
by I'llBeYourDandelion
Summary: Katniss and Prim get transferred to an expensive academy in the Capitol, sure to be filled with new friends, new enemies, and maybe even some romance. Read to find out! Set in Panem without the Hunger Games, so the Everdeens aren't quite as poor.
1. Chapter 1

**I had an idea the other day to write a story like this, so I decided to do it, since "How Could I Fail?" (which I will still be updating) is kind of depressing. Read on!**

**Disclaimer: I am not Suzanne Collins and do not own The Hunger Games.**

* * *

I groan and roll over to swat my alarm, my grogginess causing me to miss by a few inches and hit my wooden nightstand.

"Oww…" I moan, holding my hand and curling back up under my covers. Unfortunately, the alarm continues to beep, and I attempt to solve the problem by covering my ears with my arms. This, obviously, does not work out.

I could get up if I wanted to, but I'm far too nervous. After many years of the boring, standard school in District Twelve, an elite academy in the Capitol is going to be a huge change. I still can't believe it, but my mom finally came up with the money to send Prim and me there. I turned seventeen earlier in the year, in May, and my mom gave us the news as a sort of birthday present. I tried to act as excited as I could about it, because I can only imagine how long she's had to save up to do this. The academies in the Capitol aren't cheap, and this will probably leave her with just enough money to support herself.

"Wake up, sleepy!" a voice chirps, startling me into opening my eyes. When I roll over on my back, I find myself staring into Prim's big blue eyes. Of course. She's been bouncing off the walls about going to this academy, chattering all the time about how much fun she's going to have. But she doesn't have to leave anybody behind in Twelve.

Gale, my best friend, I know is certainly not going. He'd rather stay behind with his family than go anywhere, even this academy. He got a scholarship, because he has brains. This could have been a big opportunity for him, but I'm still not surprised he didn't accept. As for my other two kind-of friends, Madge Undersee and Delly Cartwright, I have no clue. But with my luck, they'll be staying behind here in Twelve as well.

"Come on, today's the day we leave!" Prim's moved off of the bed and is attempting to yank the covers off of me.

"Alright, alright, I'm getting up." I grumble back. Prim is finally making her way to the door, but she pauses for a moment and looks back at me.

"Uh, when you're done getting yourself ready, will you… will you do my hair?" Prim practically whispers the last part, as if she's afraid I'll say no.

"Of course, Prim." I smile. I've been practicing many different braids over the years, on Prim's hair and my own. Even my mom's a few times, when I was younger and Prim not as willing. Prim now absolutely loves it when I do her hair, and frequently asks me to do it in the morning before school or before special occasions. She's only thirteen, and not quite as skilled when it comes to things of that sort. She certainly wants to learn, though. I've caught her before, looking into the mirror in our small bathroom, a look of determination on her face, as she tries to replicate the two French braids I often fashion her hair into.

I realize I've been sitting in my bed, just thinking, and decide it's time to finally get up. I swing my feet over the side shuffle down to our kitchen, where my mom is preparing a simple breakfast.

"Hello, dear." she turns and smiles at me, setting a plate of toast in front of me.

"'Lo." I say, my voice quiet. How could I sound happy and cheery knowing what's to come today?

"Oh, try to sound a little happier. After all, you're going to the academy today!" I know I should try to sound cheerier for my mom. She did have to pay a lot for this, and I'm not sounding too grateful right now. When I still don't respond, my mom speaks up again. "Katniss, what's wrong? Do you not want to go to this academy?"

"Well…" I don't know how to tell my mom that I really am not looking forward to this. "Not… not really. I won't know anyone, and, um…"

"Well, you're going." my mom says, getting a stern look. "So eat up and go get ready. The train comes in two hours."

"Alright." I mumble, grabbing a piece of toast and sighing.

* * *

**Reviews make my day! 3**


	2. Chapter 2

**It's the weekend, which means more time for my stories! Unfortunately, I have a cold right now. And... I'd love to see some reviews on this story!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Suzanne Collins and don't own the Hunger Games.**

* * *

The sleek Capitol train pulls into our small station so fast little wisps of hair come undone from my braid. Prim stands beside me, rocking back and forth on her feet. I offered to hold her hand, more for me than her, but she declined, going on about how she was thirteen now and didn't need to be treated like a kid and such. I knew how hectic it was going to be getting on the train, though. There would be many people getting on and off even without all the kids going to the academy. I feel something like a hand brush my arm, and whirl around, startling Prim.

"Madge?" I ask, seeing the familiar face. "You're coming?"

"Of course, silly! I'm not that dumb." she jokes, punching my arm. Madge is in a simple white lacy dress that compliments her figure quite well. Her wavy blonde hair is done in a side braid fastened with a little pink ribbon. She looks beautiful, as always. I look down at my old blue blouse and gray skirt and blush. I don't look fit to go to the Capitol at all. Prim looks cute as button, in her white blouse and black skirt, hair in two French braids to a bun. It's a rather elegant hairstyle I've used a few times on myself, but she insisted I do her hair in something a little more "grown-up" than two braids.

"Oh, what's the matter?" Madge questions, concern in her voice.

"Um, oh, nothing really." I take my eyes off the ground and look at Madge. I certainly don't want to ruin this day for her. I can tell she's as excited as Prim, only Madge is probably thinking about all the cute boys she's going to meet. "It's just-" My sentence is cut off my a loud "All students going to the Elite Capitol Academy over here! Right over here, students!"

I lightly grab Prim's shoulder and hold Madge's hand, maneuvering us all over to where the voice is originating. When we get there, I find it's a young man with red hair calling us aboard. As he gets us all onto the train, I get a glimpse of his nametag. Darius. Interesting. I have almost no time to wonder where he's from before we're being pushed into what I assume is a dining cart. There are surprisingly few students, maybe ten at most. Oh well. District Twelve was never the smartest district. I observe our company. There's Prim, Madge, a few kids from my grade, and a few from the grade below. But over in the corner, I see a blonde boy who I feel like I recognize. I've seen him around school, and he's certainly in my grade. We've never talked, though. He hangs around with his more popular friends, and I keep to myself, except for Madge. Speaking of Madge, she's now shaking my arm and pointing to something over on some tray. I sigh and follow her.

"Ooh, Katniss, I've never seen food like this before!" she squeals. Of course she hasn't. This is Capitol food. I roll my eyes as she points to all the different foods she wants to try. "Katniss, you've got to try this one." Madge mumbles through some kind of pastry. I get no say as she shoves it into my mouth. It's flaky, doughy, and has some sort of jam in the middle. Not bad. I'm just looking up when I see the blonde boy looking at me, and make eye contact. However, I flicker my eyes away quickly, blushing. Before I can let myself wonder why he was looking at me, Madge pulls me away.

"Come on, I hear we get rooms!" she whispers in my ear.

"But… what… about Prim?" I ask, my brain still not up to speed.

"She's in a different grade. She can't sleep with us. Come _on_!" Finally getting myself straight, I walk over to the sheet Madge is blabbering about. There are only a certain amount of rooms, even on a train from the Capitol, so we have to partner up. I'm relieved to see Madge's name next to mine, meaning we'll be a sharing a room. Before I go, though, I scan for Prim's name and find it's next to nobody. I suppose she'll be sleeping by herself. I feel kind of bad, and make a mental note to invite her to sleep in my bed with Madge if she'd like.

I am absolutely shocked when I see the room Madge and I are to share. The floor is made of some kind of marble, and the bedspreads make me comfortable just looking at them.

"Wow." I whisper unintentionally.

"I know." Madge agrees. "My house is nothing compared to this." It's true, she does have a little more money than the rest of us, but this is truly amazing.

"This is Capitol life, Madge." I turn and smile at her, and she returns it. Maybe this year at the academy won't be as bad as I thought.

* * *

**Love you all!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm in kind of a bad mood right now so I won't bother you with a long rant in the author's note.**

**RedheadedGodess: Thanks for reviewing! I do have some twists and surprises in mind for this story. Hope you enjoy. :)**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Suzanne Collins and do not own The Hunger Games.**

* * *

The hours pass and we still don't get to the Capitol. Being the outermost district would have this downfall. After hours talking to Madge and me in our room, Prim starts to get quite bored, so I take her back to the dining car, expecting it to be empty, seeing as it's nine-thirty at night. Madge declines our offer to accompany us, saying she'd rather stay and organize her stuff. She insists we just go and practically has to force us out of the room. Prim holds my hand as we switch cars. I can't blame her for being scared of that. I don't like it much myself.

My prediction of an empty dining car is wrong. At a table in the corner sit one remaining boy from my grade and the blonde boy. Their eyes flit over to us as we walk in the room, but they resume their conversation quickly as if nothing happened. I'm relieved, to be honest. I'm just not in the mood to deal with questions and pointless chatter. I'm sure to steer Prim to a table in the opposite corner so as not to overheard. I have no interest in hearing the blonde boy's conversation and I don't want him to hear ours.

"So, Prim." I say with a smile.

"So," she gets a devilish grin on her face and prepare myself. "Why did you blush when that boy over there looked at you earlier? You know, when we first got on." So she saw that. Great.

"No reason, Little Duck." I reach over and tickle her cheek. Little Duck has been my nickname for Prim ever since one day last year when she was having lots of difficulty getting her blouse to stay in her skirt. It stuck out like a duck tail.

"Oh really?" I roll my eyes.

"No, Prim." But really, why did I? Was it the way he was staring at me or just the fact that he was? Did he have the same reaction? I wouldn't know, because I looked away immediately. "Are you ex-" I haven't even finished my question when there's a very hot liquid scalding my back. Prim gasps, and I whirl around to face my assailant. To my surprise, it's the blonde boy. He's holding a cup with now a few drops of some brown liquid.

"I-I'm so sorry. What-how can-do you need help?" he sputters. Of course I don't want help from him. He just dumped a hot drink on me.

"Stay away, drink boy." I growl through my teeth, trying to fight back the few tears that spring to my eyes because of the pain.

"I'm so sorry, really, can-"

"No! Go away!" I snap, getting up out of my chair and grabbing Prim's hand. I lead her back through the door to my room, where Madge is presumably folding some clothes. She gasps and drops the shirt she was smoothing when she sees me.

"Katniss, what happened?" she asks. Without answering, I grab the bottom of my shirt and fling it off, not caring that now I'm in only my bra and pants. The pain has lessened some, but my back still hurts. I rush to the large bathroom we've been given and try to get a good look at my back in the mirror. The area where the hot liquid spilled is pink, and seeing this I determine that it hurts worse than it looks. Madge comes in without even knocking, and I honestly don't mind.

"The blonde boy spilled a really hot drink on me." I sigh. "Will you please do something about it?" I suppose it's not a fair question, asking her to deal with my problem, but luckily Madge doesn't mind and gets started right away.

"Well, the first thing to do for a burn, even a minor one, is put it under cold water. We can't really fit your back in the sink, so would you prefer a bag of ice or a bag of water? Or maybe a mix?"

"I don't really care, Madge, just make it feel batter." I groan.

"Mix it is," she says, more to herself than me. "Now go out and lay on your bed, back up." She orders me. Not really feeling like resisting, I do as she says. Moments later, Madge comes out with two bags filled with water and ice cubes. She places both on my back where I was burned, and I gasp. Soon after, though, I give in to how good it feels on my burned back.

"Thanks, Madge." I say through the pillow my face is on.

"No problem." she replies. "Now just stay there. I'll go search the cabinet in our bathroom and see if there's anything I can put on your back to fix it." Madge walks back into the bathroom and it's not long before I hear small bumps and bangs.

"Will you be okay?" Prim asks, blue eyes wide with concern. I had almost forgotten she was there.

"Yes, I'll be fine." I smile and squeeze her hand. "Now go get some sleep." When I hear her footsteps, I sigh and close my eyes, exhausted by the commotion.

* * *

**And that's all! Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the story faves and follows! It means a lot to me.**

**RedheadedGodess: Yes, you were.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Suzanne Collins and I don't own The Hunger Games.**

* * *

When I wake, my back feels lighter. I crane to get a good look at it and find the bags of ice are no longer on me. Sunlight is peeking in the window, and Madge is nowhere to be seen. Having just woken up, my brain is a bit slow, and it takes me a moment to figure out that I slept until morning and Madge is probably eating breakfast with Prim. I also slept in my clothes. Well, I say clothes, but really my bra and pants. I manage to get myself to roll out of bed and I glance over at the nearest clock, discovering that it's seven in the morning. It's later than I usually sleep, but not terribly late, which I'm grateful for. I hastily grab fresh clothes, scamper into the bathroom, and change, looking into the mirror to decide if I need to spend a lot of time on my hair. In the end, I just decide to undo my current braid and braid it back, then pop a mint in my mouth even though I'm about to eat.

I go to switch cars, but pause before the door. I have no idea if the blonde boy, who I try not to refer to as "Drink Boy" will be there. And if he is, how will I react? Now that I'm thinking about it, I do feel bad for being so rude to him last night. After all, he tried to help me after he spilled his drink on me, and what did I do? I just told him to stay away and then proceeded to stomp back to my room. I sigh and try to think of other things. If he's there, then he's there. No words need to be said, after all. Well, maybe a quick "sorry." My stomach grumbles loudly at me, and I step into the dining car. As I predicted, Madge and Prim are sitting at a table, talking with smiles on their faces.

"Er, hey." I say when I reach the table. Madge looks up and smiles.

"Katniss, you're up!" she squeals, and scoots herself and her plate of some Capitol food over. "Come on, sit down! These are so good. They're called 'pancakes.' You have to try them!"

"Madge, calm down." I say, giving a small smile. I then call a server over. They all have red hair and wear the same outfit. The hair thing is kind of strange, really… "Uh, may I have some… pancakes?" I ask rather awkwardly, hoping I pronounced the word right.

"Coming right up." They reply stiffly and walk away. I turn back to Madge, who tapped on my shoulder.

"Hey, how's your back?" She asks a little quieter. "Still hurting?"

"No, not as much." I say, and it's the truth. I'd hardly noticed I had the burn until I started thinking about the blonde boy. Was he here now? I give the room a quick scan and find that he is indeed in the car, and at the table behind us. Suddenly, the air feels very awkward. I will not be able to eat my breakfast in peace knowing the boy I was so rude to sits behind me. But I can't say anything. He'd certainly just reject my apology.

I have to stop thinking of this, though, because the waiter brings me my pancakes. They're circular, and look to be made of some kind of batter. Sweet-looking syrup is poured over them, and they've also been dusted with a white powder. On top are a few bright red berries, ones we could never get in Twelve. Our berry bushes are far duller. I take a fork and knife, glad I've learned to use silverware, and get started. When I take my first bite, the pancakes themselves seem a little plain, but the syrup fills my mouth with a wonderful taste. I quickly eat one, and then another, clearing my plate. The only things I've ignored are the berries. As soon as I bite into one, a tart flavor brings my taste buds to life. Even the corners of my mouth seem full of a tart taste.

"Mmm…" I let out louder than I intended to, drawing the attention of Madge.

"Good, isn't it?" she says. "You know, I saw this other thing on the menu too. 'Waffles…'" But I have to turn my attention away from Madge, because there's a light tap on my shoulder. Of course, it's the blonde boy. Who else would it be?

"Hey, can I… can we talk? Um, over… over there?" he points to the other side of the car, close to the door we came through to get on the train. I sigh and nod a response. I get up out of the chair, motioning to Madge that I'll be back in a moment.

"I'm so sorry. Really. I can't believe I spilled that hot chocolate on you." The words come out of his mouth quickly, and I nod. So that's what he spilled on me. Hot chocolate. "I was just coming to… to give some to you, and I stumbled, and spilled. I feel so bad." He buries his face in his hands, and I feel very bad for him. It's me who should be apologizing for being so rude.

"It's… really okay." I reach my hand out to touch his arm, surprising myself. It sends a tingle through my arm, and I almost can't get the next words out. "I… I shouldn't have been so rude. Can we just forget that this ever happened?" I really hope that he'll be able to forget. That he won't be upset forever. He takes his hands off his face, causing me to drop my hand.

"Sure. Are we… are we good then?" He smiles, and I feel a huge rush of relief.

"Of course." And I return the smile easily.

"My name's Peeta, by the way." he adds.

"Katniss." I say. It would be an understatement to say I was happy.

* * *

**Sorry if the last part was a little rushed... I'd love to see some reviews on this story too! It only takes a minute and makes my day!**


End file.
